Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Making hay


I liked the geometry of this scene as I spied it from the side of the road. Living in London, we're blessed to have farm country so close by. I really must spend more time exploring and capturing.

Your turn: Why do we enjoy getting out of town? If we all love farm country so much and we seem to despise the craziness of urban life, why is everybody flocking to live in the city?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

This pic reminds me of Ed Burtynsky's work.

I, too, love to escape. But unless I plan on being a farmer or a lucrative freelance career crops up and there is a high demand for electricians... I don't foresee us moving out to the country anytime soon. *sniff* Sadly, I think monetary gain is a large part of urbanization. Also, there is something comforting about the anonymity of the city. I've lived in small towns before and everyone knows everything about you, which makes you want to escape to the city!

persia said...

Achoo.

Achoo!

ACHOOOOO!

Heyfever maybe?
--jsf

Hen Jen said...

We would love to have some land, I think we have become farmer-wanna-bes...but my husband's great, fantastic job that he loves is keeping us here. If something ever happened with his job, I think we would be looking near spokane, Wash. for a few acres. We live in a city now, but have a few chickens, as many as we are allowed, a garden, and my husband wants to keep bees..but we can't here in a normal city neighborhood. So, in short, it is money and job that is keeping us here. We are spoiled too, with so many cities close by, I can find and drive to anything rather quickly. I don't know how we would do out in the country with no coffee house or Barnes and Nobles for date night.

like the picture,
Jenny in Ca

Anonymous said...

First, I'm gratified to know there are properly shaped (rectangular) haybales near you. South Dakota has a preponderance of cylindrical bales, and while they're cute covered with tarps and adorned with faces and antennae on Halloween, I find them disturbing.

Second, I'm a city girl. Roughing it, for me, means a hotel with no room service, or a house with no wifi. So, I like small doses of 'country' - like pumpkin festivals - but I need to know there's a venti soy chai waiting for me at the end of the day.

srp said...

I've lived in a big city, small town and large (land wise) but small (population wise) city. I think I liked Oklahoma City the best. The layout in a square grid satisfied my strange need for order. The shopping and services were those of a big city. The feel was still of a smaller, old west town. The people there are the best, friendly but not nosey, and in hard times they are there to help neighbors and strangers.

Shephard said...

Great shot.
I had to throw my 2 cents in on this one.

Going some place opposite jars us from routine, and frees the mind to think something other than 60% of yesterday's thoughts.

Breaking routine makes us feel more alive and puts a unique marker on the passing of time.
That's my two cents. :)
~S

Ontario Emperor said...

Nice places to visit, but we wouldn't want to LIVE there.

Last summer my wife, our daughter, her wife's father, and I took a cross country trip. My wife and I, both suburban-grown, got all excited over the hay that we saw, and kept on wanting to take pictures of it. My father, who spent most of his youth on farms, just rolled his eyes.

Anonymous said...

Well, I think we flock for a few reasons: shopping, convenience, shopping, easier commuting, shopping, better job benefits - and did I mention shopping? Oh, and if you've ever driven by a poultry farm, then you'll know that sometimes, the city actually smells BETTER than the country! ha!!!

My float said...

It may well be a case of "the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence". That's not to say that i don't long to flee the crazy city and seek refuge in a lovely little cottage in the country. But I don't think it's every going to happen, simply because life is far too competitive these days and we all have to make a living somehow.

utenzi said...

Michele sent me, Carmi, to your hay bale post.

It's interesting to see rectangular hay bales again. For some reason, around here they bale hay/straw in big wheel-like shapes. I live amidst a lot of dairy farms so I see a lot of hay being grown and baled around here to prepare for winter.

I think the reason most of us don't live in the country is that the money is in the city. So if you're ambitious, you're more likely to drift towards the bright lights and crowded streets.

I've lived in cities and didn't like it at all. I grew up in a very small town and that's what I'm comfortable with.

Linda said...

I live in Kansas...home of the prairie...we have hay in huge ROLLS here (my son can't say hay bale, so he says Hobos!). All I have to do is head to Ft. Riley, and I encounter farm land everywhere...cornfields (mostly denuded now), milo (soon to be harvested) and lots of "hobos" to entertain my son. They actually have lots of them on post as well. It's mini escape any time I want. Heck, I live on a DIRT road...but I see TARGET out my window!

Karen said...

Hi Carmi. I'm peeking around your archives this evening, although not as far back as the one you found on my blog!

We get out of town for adventure and a change of view. I can't imagine how people managed before autos. We are so spoiled and don't even realize.

Michele sent me back here tonight. G'night!